The Thread "For Elona!"

The Thread "For Elona!"

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Posted by: Nero.8047

Nero.8047

Ahai,

Something has always been bothering me on these forums.
we have: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/The-Cantha-Thread-Merged Which has 55 pages right now. Yet Elona doesn’t have its own meta-thread like this. As such, here it finally is.

This is a thread for all who wish to see an Elonian expansion, the living story taking us there, Raids within the boundaries of the Land of the Golden Sun and everything else Elona-related.

What would you like to see in an Elona-themed expansion?

  • New Elite-Specializations fitting the landscapes and culture.
  • New Masteries.
  • Lore, both old and new.
  • AI and other Game-Mechanics.
  • Etc.

Here is my entry which starts with a long introduction for those unfamiliar with Elona:

Elona

“The jungle is said to provide… the desert however? I’ve only ever seen it take away. It consumes those who dare set foot on its scorching surface. All it grants is death and decay. Still we have reason to head into these wastelands. Two Elder-Dragons have been slain; danger still remains. Kralkatorrik, the Crystal Dragon, was last seen headed to these lands. From the moment it arose from its slumber deep within the Blood Legion Homelands it flew south, not even bothering to cover its track as if not giving any of the races of Tyria a single thought, it carved the brand into Tyria’s landscape.

Now Glint’s legacy has been bestowed upon us and the nation of Elona is in dire need of its Salvation. Reports have come in of Palawa Joko, an undead lich overlord, holding the entirety of Elona within the grasps of his dried, rotten hands. Having learnt from his past mistakes in his attempts of seizing control, he marched into Vabbi with renewed strategies, he dammed and diverted the Elon River which deprived the Vabbians and Kournans of its source of water whilst supplying his own with this priceless resource. Seeing no way out the Vabbians surrendered, the Kournans and Istani soon followed.

The hailed Order of the Sunspears, guardians of Elona, has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Palawa Swiftly crushed the Order and converted prominent members to his own cause. These converted Sunspear Traitors now serve Palawa Joko as a unit of elite knights named the Mordant Crescent.

It is unclear to us if Palawa has met with the branded forces of Kralkatorrik, yet we know for sure that they are bound to be enemies. The upcoming war in the Crystal Desert and further south shall be a war on three fronts. We have Kralkatorrik on one side, Palawa Joko on the other and our united races taking it up to them both!"

-Nero.


The Crystal Desert, the Desolation and Elona itself all share a harsh climate.

“Legends tell of a time, thousands of years ago, when the Crystal Desert was covered in water. These legends claim that it was the gods who raised the land, leaving it bare and empty in order to give the solitary creatures of the world a place to call their own. If the legends are true, humans were not among those for whom this land was made. There have been attempts by humans to settle in the desert, but they have, without exception, failed miserably, leaving behind only the grand monuments they built here proclaiming their short-lived triumph over this harsh land.

The weather in the Crystal Desert is hot and unforgiving. The winds blow hard, making and unmaking dunes, covering up the present and uncovering the past. An examination of the sand will reveal that each grain is actually a tiny, pointed crystal. In isolated locations, larger crystal formations have been revealed by the constant, unforgiving wind." – The Guild Wars Manuscripts

Due to the rise of Orr, water has entered the wastes of the desert. This has given life to new creatures and others thrive on the water like never before. Sadly the water influences only portions of the desert, an area easily the size of the great nation of Kryta still remains without water and is hard to traverse because of this. Sandstorms, not unlike those witnessed in Dry Top, are common.

  • Ancient ruins of past human civilizations have been uncovered by these sandstorms.
  • The joint nations must rely on the help of native species among which Centaurs to traverse many dangerous areas.
  • Scarabs plague the arid plains and Hydra’s are not fond of the activity within their territory either.
    These Hydra’s can hold their own against the branded and Palawa Joko’s awakened forces. Prepare yourselves well.
  • Many traces can be found of the Forgotten and other ancient civilizations among which the Margonite.

Raid
The Tomb of the Primeval Kings has been uncovered, yet was found corrupted by Kralkatorrik. What dark forces lurk in these halls now?

Masteries

  • The Junundu
    Use these majestic wurms to traverse the desolate plains.

Elite Specializations
Guardian – Paragon – Polearm/Spear
The arid plains have worn out the soldiers, a commander has to stand up to motivate these soldiers to jump back into the fight for a greater cause.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/What-next-elite-spec-do-you-expect/first

Ranger – Nomad – Hammer
The ranger knows the environment well and they knows how to shake it up. With heavy blows of their hammer they squash scarabs while using new and improved beast mastery to better control their pets. (Bunny Thumpers!)

AI

  • Hydra’s with their multiple heads now focus on multiple targets at once.
  • Scarab swarms attack camps and they never attack alone. (Imagine pocket raptors, slower yet stronger.)

But this is all to spark an interest, please discuss and above all. Show your support for Elona as much as everyone else has been supporting Cantha!

As the great Turai Ossa once shouted:
“For Elona!”

Paragon of the Seraphim Order [Ankh]
a small, casual Guild with a play as you want style.

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Posted by: Aranvar le Voyageur.7521

Aranvar le Voyageur.7521

I miss so much elona that I have made a gardian looking like an old sunspear parangon ^^
I would love to come back there…but what will happens this time, african and middle east country will declare themselves offended because of mixed inspirations taken in their respective culture…like china, corea, japan did for faction ?
How tolerant, imagine if europeans would act the same way…

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Posted by: Jaxom.7310

Jaxom.7310

i lik elona much more than cantha.

not gonna read all that u have, but i did see paragon, and i must say, no paragon, they were lame, dervs were cool tho, turn guards into dervs

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Posted by: skullmount.1758

skullmount.1758

Well definitely would rather have Elona over Cantha, both for setting (navigating the city really made me despise Cantha) and story. But I’d prefer someplace new, like the far north (Jormag territory) or maybe domain of winds (finally…) or maybe one of the other islands/continents that people (that_Shaman) found on the world map.

Darkhaven server
Please give us a keyring…

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Posted by: Danikat.8537

Danikat.8537

I’d love to see Elona again (as well as Cantha) and I think it’d actually make more sense for us to go there first. I think a lot of people assume we’d get Cantha first simply because that’s how it was in GW1.

I’d love to see those maps with GW2 graphics, but most of all I’d like the chance to take down Palawa Joko. I never liked the idea of letting him out in the first place, I’d much rather have found another way across the Desolation and I especially didn’t like just leaving him to build up his army again. It was not a surprise at all when I read that he ended up taking over and destroying the SunSpears and I’d love a chance to put that right.

Having said all that I suspect we’re going to be seeing more of the areas already on the map before we get anything outside of the borders, if only because it fits between with the format of small expansions/Living Story instead of stand-alone campaigns. So we might get to see the north of the Crystal Desert (probably when we fight Kralk) but probably not the rest for some time yet.

Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).

“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

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Posted by: Dantert.1803

Dantert.1803

I’m In for that but I want a a new race with the expac or the Dervish profession from gw2 to return

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Posted by: Lahmia.2193

Lahmia.2193

I’m In for that but I want a a new race with the expac or the Dervish profession from gw2 to return

Until then grab your Daredevil or Revenant, put on the Arcane outfit and equip either the Halloween Scythe or Final Rest skin.

Surrender and serve me in life, or die and slave for me in death.

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Posted by: cymn.7384

cymn.7384

I would so much love to go back to Elona! And if they were to add new races, I would totally want to be a djinn!

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Posted by: Tiger Ashante.1792

Tiger Ashante.1792

Elona should definitely be the next expac, it was the first campaign i bought in gw1 and gw1 was my first online game. So many fond memories, would love to revisit it and wouldn’t want it changed too much either.

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Posted by: Randulf.7614

Randulf.7614

I love a lot of your ideas. Nightfall was where GW1 really took off for me. The story in Propehcies and Factions was pretty dire (for me) and it started a turn around in both story and gameplay, so I fondest memories in Elona above all.

It’s also where the Order of Whispers was founded and felt a lot more unique and less watered down than the current version.

I’ll have to think on Specialisations. It’s just crying out for Dervish, even if lore it would need a new identity.

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Posted by: The Meat Wagon.7194

The Meat Wagon.7194

Why do you want them to screw up another continent?

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Posted by: Tipper.6973

Tipper.6973

I’m really hoping we see a Crystal Desert / Elona expansion next. Those were my favourite areas in GW1.

I think introducing land spears and a Paragon elite spec is a MUST — it could go to either Warrior or Guardian. A tanky support archetype with some group heals and buffs.

I’m less keen on the Dervish, since I feel like it would be too similar to Revenant. One could argue that it could just become a Revenant elite spec, but in my opinion the Rev needs a ranged condi spec first, and Dervish doesn’t fit.

So I vote for a new “Lich Stance” elite spec for Revenant, channeling the spirit of Vizier Khilbron and wielding a Scepter. It would deal primarily in conditions like poison and bleeding, attacking from range. I would also give all Revenants a baseline Focus offhand, since they only currently have Sword and Axe and it feels a bit lacking (Glint’s shield doesn’t count since it’s elite only). The Focus would have ranged support type abilities.

I’d also like to see a new Necromancer elite called Shaman. The Shaman would wield a Torch offhand and utilize “black flames” to burn and torment foes. This black fire would be the visual and thematic basis of the class. They would get a new death shroud that matches — a primitive looking conjurer dabbling in magics they don’t fully understand. I envision this class to be a mid range brawler, with high mobility and teleports, bouncing in and out of melee while hexing and burning foes.

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Posted by: Squee.7829

Squee.7829

I thought Elona was the best area in GW1. I liked the deep lore and history and whatnot. I can see why people liked Cantha, and it added the best PvP-ish features, but honestly I feel like if they removed Cantha completely, it wouldn’t have really affected the overall GW1 story that much. You’d just be wondering who Shiro was when you fought him in the Realm of Torment. And I haaaated Kaineng City.
And Elona was pretty! For the most part. There weren’t many areas in Elona that I thought were just kind of “meh”. But my favorite area in GW1 as far as aesthetics was probably the Arid Sea, which, I guess is part of Elona? Or just north of it. But it was in the prophecies campaign. And I want it back >:o

Leader and sole member of the “Bring Penguins to Tyria” movement.

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Posted by: Dantert.1803

Dantert.1803

I would say give the guardian a paragon elite spec and a kitten underwater spear to use on land!

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Posted by: Jaken.6801

Jaken.6801

Elona would be the “easiest” expansion at the moment.
Just go south from Ebonhawk, or east from Orr.

We even got the tech and design running allready, with the implementation of the Silverwastes.
So Sandstorms, desert and thombs shouldn`t really be a problem.

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Posted by: Ioras Dagnir.3927

Ioras Dagnir.3927

Nightfall was the campaign I started on so Elona will always be home for me. My main is a ranger of Elonian descent blessed by Kormir and named after my first character.

Take me home Anet!

(edited by Ioras Dagnir.3927)

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Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

I would love to see Elona again. Or Cantha for that matter. I want it all!

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Posted by: Inculpatus cedo.9234

Inculpatus cedo.9234

I loved the Crystal Desert, so it’s Crystal Desert/Elona for me. Much rather have that than Cantha.

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Posted by: ricky markham.8173

ricky markham.8173

i personally liked the elona chapter more then the cantha chapter in gw1 so id love to return there but wouldnt mind cantha either due to the fact one of the things i like best doing ingame is checking out the areas compared to gw1

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Posted by: Nero.8047

Nero.8047

I believe one of the things that could be amazing in Elona is the interactive meta-maps.

Imagine a Kournan map where you’re in a power-struggle with palawa joko’s forces.
Every once in a while the dammed up Elon breaks through the dam, filling the canyons of the area with water, covering up huge chunks of the map not unlike a reverse sandstorm in Dry Top. The flood could have strong currents disabling you from swimming in it and have calmer sections where you can swim to reach certain caverns with treasure, jumping puzzles and other adventures.

Paragon of the Seraphim Order [Ankh]
a small, casual Guild with a play as you want style.

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Posted by: blueberry.2504

blueberry.2504

Always more of an elona fan. You have my vote for this pro Elona post :-p Even the beginners Island of Nightfall was much better, richer of lore and ambience then the Factions one in my opinion. The asian theme has been used too much already in many other games.

(edited by blueberry.2504)

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Posted by: Nero.8047

Nero.8047

Another thing that came to mind.
Vabbians and The Hiddin City of Ahdashim.

The Hidden City of Ahdashim (henceforth referred to as simply: “Ahdashim”.) was, as the name implies, a hidden city which provided a refuge for the Vabbian Princes during the first reign of Palawa Joko.

Ahdashim is a city filled with mountains of gold coins, gems and other jewelry.
It is also protected and controlled by the Djinn, an ethereal race in appearance not much unlike the fire-elementals seen from the elementalist’s summons.

Although you could drown in the amount of wealth stored in the city of Ahdashim you must acknowledge the following:
Wealth offers little protection from the undead lich and its army.

Ahdashim was well hidden during the first reign of Palawa Joko but after the events surrounding “Nightfall” the city became more well-known. The sunspears had acces to this city and, although the djinn would never allow its riches to be taken, the entrance was now known to the Order of the Sunspears in the least.

The Sunspears now largely fall under the command of Palawa Joko and it is thus safe to assume that Palawa Joko knows of the existence of this city serving as a shelter from his reign.

Any Vabbians seeking custody within the walls of Ahdashim now aren’t as safe as they presume themselves to be. The awakened forces of Joko, combined with some Sunspear remnants now assault the city’s entrance and the Djinn can’t hold the ground eternally.

The Vabbian citizens and perhaps the princes themselves have no other option than to make a stand within the walls.
Problem being: They lack equipment and there is no steel to forge into swords or armour.
The Vabbians will discover that their wealth has become worthless in peril and must melt down their gold, forge it into weaponry and armour and make a stand against the awakened forces.

Sadly gold isn’t as strong as steel is and the weapons/armour will break quickly.

Panic falls upon the vabbians as all their resources slowly diminish.

  • Their gold literally melts away.
  • Food supplies are running low.
  • Morale is depleting.

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Paragon of the Seraphim Order [Ankh]
a small, casual Guild with a play as you want style.